Part 24 (1/2)
”Well, yeah.” She shrugged. ”I had a few questions.”
”Such as, does it exist?”
”For starters, yeah. And if it does, why would a loving G.o.d send people there?”
Woods leaned against the counter and folded his arms. ”First of all, let me be very clear about something, Rebecca. h.e.l.l does exist. It is very real, and it is very terrifying.”
”But how can you be so sure? I know the Bible talks about it, but how can - ”
”Because I was there.”
Becka stopped cold. She could only stare. Before she could respond, she heard a m.u.f.f led pounding and banging. She threw a nervous look to the freezer drawers.
”Wh-what's that?”
”Did you leave the front door ajar?” Woods asked.
”No, it locked before I could catch it.”
”Well,” he turned and headed for the double gla.s.s doors at the other end. ”It sounds like we have another visitor. I'll be right back.” Before Becka could protest, he threw open the doors and bounded up the stairs.
Becka fought off another s.h.i.+ver. No way was she thrilled about being left alone in this room. She stole a glance at the body covered with the sheet, then turned back to the giant ice-box behind her. Come to think about it, maybe she wasn't all that alone after all. The thought gave her little comfort.
A minute later, Dr. Woods came back down the stairway.
Beside him was a very anxious and agitated Ryan.
Once Becka told Ryan that Dr. Woods knew Z and that he could be trusted, Ryan quickly explained what was happening at Julie's.
”You were right, we're not dealing with angels,” he said.
”We're dealing with one of the bad guys. He's already got control of Julie. And Krissi and Philip, well, who knows what's going to happen to them.”
Rebecca felt an unbearable heaviness in her chest. Those were her friends he was talking about. People she loved. She bit her lip and looked at the floor.
They were also people who would no longer listen.
”If we go now,” Ryan continued, ”maybe we can stop them before anything else happens.”
She did not answer.
”Becka?”
Slowly, sadly, she looked up.
”What's wrong?”
She didn't answer.
”Beck, we've got to do something.”
When she spoke, her voice was thick and husky. ”I've been trying, Ryan. All week I've been trying.”
”I know that, but together, maybe - ”
She shook her head. ”It won't work.”
”So what are you saying? That we just sit here and do nothing?”
”Ryan ...” She tried to swallow, but there was a large lump in her throat. ”Don't you get it? They don't want my help. They don't want anything to do with me.”
Ryan stared at her.
Unable to hold his gaze, she looked back to the floor. ”I'm sorry.” She shook her head. ”I'm ...” She trailed off, still shaking her head.
A long silence followed. Finally Dr. Woods coughed slightly and spoke. ”I don't mean to intrude here, but perhaps I can be of some help.”
They looked at him.
”Perhaps our meeting is more timely than either you or Z imagined. Rebecca, you said there was nothing to be done, and you may be right. Your friends may not listen to you. But to stop talking to them, to stop telling them the truth, well, maybe that's not your decision to make. Maybe they deserve as many chances as G.o.d decides to give them. As many chances as he gave me.”
”What do you mean?” she asked.
Woods drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. ”Two years ago, my wife and daughters were killed in an automobile accident.”
”That's terrible!”
He nodded. ”I - I was driving.” A moment of silence hung over them. Becka could tell the memories were hard on him, but he forced himself to continue. ”Lisa ... she was a religious woman. You know, church, Bible studies, Sunday school, the whole nine yards. But I never had the time or, quite honestly, the inclination. I was too busy being a successful surgeon.”
”You used to be a surgeon?” Ryan asked.
The man seemed to barely hear. ”It was late and I was bone tired, but I insisted on getting home. There was some big confer-ence or something I was to speak at in the morning. I remember trying to keep my eyes open, and then ... suddenly there was the horn and the bright lights of the semi. I tried to swerve out of the way, but ...”
He grew silent.
Ryan and Becka exchanged looks.
Finally, he continued, ”The next thing I knew, I was being sucked out of my body - as though I was fluid in a syringe. I remember looking for Lisa, for the girls, but they were nowhere to be found. I was falling. It was a deep pit, a hole that went on and on forever. I was terrified. I tried to scream, but I was too frightened. When I looked at the sides of the hole, the walls weren't made of dirt as I'd expected. They were made of people.
Living carca.s.ses. Human corpses. Thousands of them. They were all on fire. Their clothes, their bodies, their faces ...”
”So you were in h.e.l.l?” Ryan asked softly.
The man seemed too lost in memories to answer. He went on, ”I remember trying to breathe, but the stench was suffocating. The smell of rotten eggs. I believe it was sulfur. Brimstone, they used to call it.